LeGarrette Blount Formally Apologizes

LeGarrette Blount, the Oregon running back who became the talk of college football when he punched a Boise State player on the field after the Ducks' season-opening loss, apologized today for that punch in an open letter published by Oregon's student newspaper. Blount accepted full responsibility, and he said nothing said by Boise State's Byron Hout justified Blount punching him.

Blount wrote in the Daily Emerald:

There is no justification for my behavior - not the "heat of the moment," not the "agony of defeat," and definitely not anything said or done by an opponent.

Being a student-athlete at the University of Oregon should be about being a good student working to positively represent the University and its football program under coach Chip Kelly, and handling both victories and defeats with sportsmanship, class, and character. That night, I used poor judgment and lost self-control. My actions reflected poorly upon my teammates, our football program, and our University. And for this, I offer my sincerest apologies and heartfelt regrets.

Blount deserves credit for his apology, and especially for his refusal to blame Hout, who started the whole incident by grabbing Blount's shoulder and taunting him. He's suspended for the rest of the football season, but Blount sounds like a young man who still wants to make the most of his senior year at Oregon.